1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system and method for performing failover in an IP telephony system when a component fails or becomes unavailable.
2. Description of the Related Art
Systems that deliver voice communications over the Internet or other packet-switched networks have become common place and are generally referred to as IP telephony systems or Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) systems. Such IP telephony systems are particularly advantageous because they reduce the communication and infrastructure costs by routing calls over existing data networks. However, in comparison to conventional circuit-switched networks in which the telephone companies maintain and power phone lines, IP telephony systems can have less reliability and be subject to network availability.
In existing IP telephony systems, a number of extensions or phones are typically serviced by a IP telephony switch. An IP telephony switch is a general or special purpose computer that processes IP telephony signaling protocols, may control traditional telephony signaling protocols, and may process audio or video media. One of the issues affecting the reliability of the IP telephony system is the reliability of the switch and the network. In the event the switch fails or becomes unavailable due to lack of connection to the network, the extensions or phones associated with that switch are rendered inoperable. When the switch becomes operable or the network is available, a number of serviced requests are issued, for example, one for each extension. However, this often creates a flood of service requests that the configuration controller is not able to handle and delays resetting of the switch and the availability of the extensions or phones associated with the switch.